University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate

University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate (UCLES) is a non-teaching department of the University of Cambridge, which operates under the brand name Cambridge Assessment. It provides education assessments for over 8 million learners in over 170 countries and marked by over 30,000 examiners every year.[1][2] These include the Oxford, Cambridge and RSA Examinations (OCR) examination board, Cambridge Assessment International Education, Cambridge Assessment Admissions Testing, and Cambridge Assessment English for learners of the English language. Its most important exam is IELTS.

"UCLES" redirects here. For the University College London Échelle Spectrograph, see Anglo-Australian Telescope.
University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate
AbbreviationUCLES, CA
Formation1858
TypeActive
Legal statusDepartment of the University of Cambridge
HeadquartersThe Triangle Building, Cambridge, UK
ServicesExaminations and academic assessments
Key people
Saul Nasse, Stephen Toope
Parent organization
University of Cambridge
Subsidiaries
Revenue (2018/19)
£485m
Staff (2019)
2694
Websitewww.cambridgeassessment.org.uk

The Chief Executive of Cambridge Assessment is Saul Nasse.

Cambridge Assessment is based at the award-winning Triangle Building in Cambridge.[3]

Organization structure

Cambridge Assessment is one of Europe's largest assessment agencies and is responsible for setting and marking a large number of examinations, both in the United Kingdom and internationally. Cambridge Assessment is not responsible for internal examinations at the University of Cambridge, other than admissions tests.

Cambridge Assessment has four Examination boards and a shared services organisation:[4]

  • OCR is one of the UK's many awarding bodies. OCR offers GCSEs, A levels and a wide range of vocational qualifications to learners of all ages in schools, colleges and other institutions within the United Kingdom.
  • Cambridge Assessment International Education (formerly known as Cambridge International Examinations) provides assessment services to many governments and supplies International GCSEs, A and AS levels and business qualifications, primarily outside the United Kingdom.
  • Cambridge Assessment English (formerly known as Cambridge English Language Assessment) operates in 135 countries worldwide. Each year over 4 million people take a Cambridge Assessment English qualification.
  • Cambridge Assessment Admissions Testing which provides admissions testing for universities including the University of Cambridge.
  • The Corporate Services Division which works across the exam boards sharing capability and best practice. This includes Business Technology Services, Print and Operations, Premises and Services, Research, Finance, Human Resources, Legal and Public Affairs.[5]

It is one of the largest international assessment agencies and recognised by governments around the world. It has units that focus on research (including the Cambridge Psychometrics Centre, until its move to the University of Cambridge), expanding e-assessment capabilities and delivering university admissions tests.

Cambridge Assessment provides a programme of development in assessment and related issues. Every year over 30,000 people work with Cambridge Assessment by either attending conferences or by taking part in topical debates from their desktop.[1]

History

UCLES was established in 1858 to administer examinations for persons who were not members of the University of Cambridge and to inspect schools, with the aim of raising standards in education. The Syndicate soon began examining in territories overseas and this aspect of its work grew quickly. At the beginning of the 20th century, the Syndicate was empowered to hold examinations for commercial certificates. The Certificate of Proficiency in English (known as the CPE), the Syndicate's first examination in the field of English as a foreign language, was introduced by UCLES to deliver proof of language proficiency to native speakers of languages other than English. Over the years, UCLES adopted further English language examinations, the First Certificate in English (FCE) and the Certificate in Advanced English (CAE). On the CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages) ranging from A1/A2 (lower level), B1/B2 (intermediate level) to C1/C2 (advanced level), the FCE is set at B2, the CAE at C1 and the CPE at C2.

The universities of Oxford and Cambridge created the Oxford and Cambridge Schools Examination Board which became part of UCLES. The UCLES Group absorbed several other examination boards, including the Southern Universities Joint Board, the Midland Examining Group and the RSA Examinations and Assessment Foundation.

Cambridge Assessment celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2008. Cambridge Assessment called for "league tables [to be] taken out of ministers' hands", because it felt recent reforms of the British education system had disfavoured International GCSEs offered by its Cambridge Assessment International subsidiary.[6][7]

References
  1. "Inside the secret location that's home to 8 million exam papers". Cambridge News. Archived from the original on 2015-09-23.
  2. "Who we are". cambridgeassessment.org.uk.
  3. "Cambridge Assessment's Triangle building wins office award". www.cambridgeassessment.org.uk. Retrieved 2020-06-30.
  4. "Our structure". cambridgeassessment.org.uk.
  5. "Annual Review 2017-18" (PDF).
  6. "Cambridge Assessment wants league tables taken out of ministers' hands". tesconnect.
  7. "Exam board chief: Private schools are being 'punished' in league tables". Telegraph.co.uk. 30 January 2015.
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